Writing Crappy Poetry Doesn't Count

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: "Writing Crappy Poetry Doesn't Count"
Date: October 23, 2025
Host: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This episode kicks off with breaking news on an NBA gambling scandal involving high-profile arrests (including a head coach and players). Armstrong and Getty dive deeply into the intersection of sports and gambling, the implications for trust in sports, and the perils of pervasive betting. The discussion branches into reflections on American culture, leadership, AI innovation, the shifting nature of work, and even relationships in the digital age. There are lively asides about historical parallels in politics, the media environment, and existential questions about purpose and productivity in a high-tech future.

The usual wit, skepticism, and open curiosity define the episode, peppered with thoughtful digressions, historical references, and humor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. NBA Gambling Scandal: Scope and Implications

• Breaking News: Reports emerge that 31 people have been arrested in an FBI investigation into NBA gambling, including Portland Trailblazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, and former NBA player Damon Jones.
  • Key moment: “A coach. An NBA coach, right. Oh, it’s one thing to get a, you know, the backup guard for some team. I mean, that would be a giant scandal.” – Jack Armstrong (02:24)
• Cheating Mechanics: Discussion of how coaches and players could influence bets, especially with the rise of “micro-propositions” (specific in-game bets).
  • “Point shaving is the easiest way. You put in the scrubs to make sure that you don't cover the spread, for instance.” – Joe Getty (03:20)
• Pervasiveness of Gambling: Reflection on how normalized and integrated betting has become in sports culture, increasing the risk of integrity breaches.
  • “There’s so many gambling opportunities... Is it that shocking that this would happen?” – Jack Armstrong (22:40)
• Fundamental Threat: The potential danger to sports if fans doubt the legitimacy of outcomes.
  • “You can’t have a sport where people suspect the outcome might be predetermined or even tweaked a little bit.” – Joe Getty (23:15)

2. Parallels and Ironies in Media & Politics

• Media Hysteria: Armstrong and Getty lampoon coverage of White House renovations as “destruction of democracy,” comparing current outrage to previous, forgotten major renovations.
  • “Remodeling the East Wing, for God’s sake. They're adding on a ballroom. It's not a threat to the Republic.” – Joe Getty (07:06)
• Trump & Russia: They discuss Ian Bremmer’s Twitter commentary on Trump’s tough energy sanctions on Russia, challenging the “Putin’s puppet” narrative.
  • “The idea that he's somehow in Putin's pocket is the laziest trope out there, especially now.” – Quoting Ian Bremmer via Jack Armstrong (07:25)

3. Trump’s Blind Spots and the Businessman Mentality

• On Ideology: Trump's business mindset leaves him oblivious to ideological or fanatical motives (political or religious).
  • “He cannot comprehend fanaticism... He cannot comprehend religious fanaticism. And to a point, that is disturbing to me.” – Joe Getty (08:23)
• Afterlife and Regret: Amusing musings on Trump’s notion that he’s not getting into heaven, and speculation on what weighs on his conscience as a contractor in New York.
  • “Apparently he’s not acquainted with the Christian notion of forgiveness either. But those have to be some pretty good sins that you would just say, no, no, no.” – Joe Getty (10:16)

4. History Repeating: English Monarchy, Religion, and Modern Politics

• King Charles & the Pope: First time in 500 years for the King of England to pray with the Pope, with Armstrong joking about likely beheading based on historical podcasts.
  • “Just based on what I’ve listened to so far... he’s going to be beheaded by this weekend.” – Jack Armstrong (11:06)

5. Tech, AI, and the Death of Shared American Experience

• Workaholic AI Engineers:
  • Wall Street Journal reports AI researchers are working 80-100 hour weeks to win the tech arms race. Startups expect extreme dedication for astronomical rewards.
    • “We’re basically trying to speed-run 20 years of scientific progress in two years... the most interesting scientific question in the world right now.” – Quoting Anthropic researcher via Joe Getty (25:04)
• Shape of the Future Economy: Speculation on AI managing supply chains as an adaptive, self-optimizing system.
• Risk to Purpose & Society:
  • “If you eliminate the need for humans to toil, to work, to earn, to have a productive purpose... writing crappy poetry doesn't count... you will get a unanimous answer” – Joe Getty (32:01)
• Crappy Poetry as a Theme: Title reference—writing aimless poetry isn’t a substitute for real productivity or purpose.

6. American Culture: Loneliness, Creativity, and Tech Dependency

• Carl Sandburg Quote (35:31):
  • “They had loneliness and they knew what to do with it... boredom is one of the great gifts God gives mankind. Eliminate it at your peril, friends.” – Joe Getty
• Audience Engagement: Listeners write in about boredom, AI, and creative struggle.
• Hilarious Comparison:
  • "How are cats like strippers? ... They sit on your lap and make you think they love you." – Text submitted by listener (16:43)

7. Other Topics and Moments

• Chinese Influence: TikTok accused of meddling in NYC mayoral race; Armstrong & Getty warn of long-term strategic infiltration.
  • “Guarantee there are thousands of Chinese nationals in the United States right now whose sole purpose is to wait for orders.” – Joe Getty (18:29)
• AI Relationships: AI as a romantic partner—men wanting to bring chatbots into real marriages; concerns over societal impacts of virtual companionship. (27:03)
• Humor/Running Jokes:
  • Michael Jordan gambling rumors; LeBron’s “ceremonial flop” to open NBA season (Babylon Bee satire).
  • Side-discussion on caramel apples as weekend comfort food.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On NBA Gambling Scandal:

  • “A coach. An NBA coach, right... That would be a giant scandal.” – Jack Armstrong [02:24]
  • “Point shaving is the easiest way...” – Joe Getty [03:20]

• On Media Outrage:

  • “Remodeling the East Wing, for God’s sake... It's not a threat to the Republic.” – Joe Getty [07:06]

• On Trump’s Shortsightedness:

  • “He cannot comprehend fanaticism... That is disturbing to me.” – Joe Getty [08:23]

• AI and Purpose:

  • “If you eliminate the need for humans to toil... writing crappy poetry doesn't count.” – Joe Getty [32:01]

• Carl Sandburg on Loneliness:

  • Paraphrasing Sandburg: “Boredom is one of the great gifts God gives mankind. Eliminate it at your peril, friends.” – Joe Getty [35:31]

• Humor - Cats vs. Strippers:

  • “They sit on your lap and make you think they love you.” – Listener text, read by Armstrong [16:43]

• On AI Relationships:

  • "He had fallen for his chatbot named Nora and wanted to bring Nora into their marriage..." – Jack Armstrong [27:28]

• On the Great AI Sprint:

  • “We’re basically trying to speed-run 20 years of scientific progress in two years.” – Joe Getty [25:04]

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Timeline of Key Segments

• [01:16-03:20] – NBA gambling scandal breaks, first reactions
• [04:16-05:49] – How cheating could play out in today’s sports gambling context
• [07:06-08:06] – Trump’s Russia sanctions and media narrative, quoting Ian Bremmer
• [08:23-10:16] – Trump’s worldview and inability to comprehend fanaticism or ideology
• [11:06-12:14] – King Charles and centuries-old religious divides revisited for laughs
• [16:43] – “Cats vs. Strippers” joke
• [17:05-17:17] – Scope of NBA gambling probe: “31 arrested in all... greatest sports gambling scandal in American history.”
• [18:09-19:01] – Chinese influence operations in the US
• [21:39-24:26] – Michael Jordan, gambling, and sports integrity
• [25:01-29:32] – AI researchers’ grueling schedules, societal risks of AI, “AI as beast”
• [32:01] – Philosophical reflection on work and purpose, “Writing crappy poetry doesn’t count”
• [35:31] – Carl Sandburg quoted on the creative power of loneliness/boredom

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Takeaways

• Gambling in sports is a ticking integrity bomb as opportunities and temptations for players and coaches increase with technological advancement and betting proliferation.
• Media narratives often distort priorities, with outrage cycling between genuine issues and performative drama.
• Technology and AI are reshaping the economy and human relationships, for better and worse—raising deep questions about meaning, productivity, and social cohesion.
• Boredom and loneliness, once drivers of art and innovation, are now being squeezed out by constant stimulation and tech, with uncertain consequences.
• Armstrong & Getty blend sharp critique with self-aware humor— poking fun at their own crankiness, aging, and the relentless weirdness of the digital age.

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For listeners: this episode weaves news, philosophy, sports, and social commentary in a signature, quick-witted style. It’s as thought-provoking as it is funny, especially for those reflecting on purpose and trust in a rapidly changing world.

Transcript

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Whoa.

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[Joe Getty]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio.

[Producer/Announcer]

Studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty. Enough. Here's I'm drawing. Get ready.

[Jack Armstrong]

The over under on more people being arrested. I'll take the over.

[Joe Getty]

Live from Studio C. Si, senor. A dimly lit room, deep dip deep.

[Jack Armstrong]

Within the bowels of the Armstrong and Getty communications compound. And hey, y'. All, Today we're under the tutelage of our general manager.

[Joe Getty]

Until moments ago, the general manager was going to be the Dunro Doctrine. The Dunro. It's a play on words, Michael. It's not like pancakes, etc. It's the Donald Trump Monroe Doctrine, you see, But a last minute substitution. Portland Trailblazers coach Chauncey Billups is our general manager, one of at least a handful of people arrested in an FBI gambling scandal. 1. Well, not an FBI gambling scandal. Nobody's gambling on the FBI.

[Jack Armstrong]

1.

[Joe Getty]

James Comey might be, but one of.

[Jack Armstrong]

The head coaches of an NBA team actually in cuffs by the FBI for cheating scandal.

[Joe Getty]

As was my Miami Heat guard, Terry Rozier.

[Jack Armstrong]

So a player. A couple players and a coach so far. And that's all it takes, I mean, for it to be plenty of big deal. A coach. An NBA coach, right. Oh, it's one thing to get a, you know, the backup guard for some team. I mean, that would be a giant scandal.

[Joe Getty]

Sure, sure. One referee. Yeah. A coach. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

And Chauncey Billups is, if you're an NBA fan, well known guy, five time all star, played on a bunch of different, you know, big name. But wow, this will be interesting to follow.

[Joe Getty]

And he was on the sidelines for the Trail Gangsters game against the Timberwolves last night too. In one. Unabashed, unashamed.

[Jack Armstrong]

In what? Easy to understand how players would cheat. You know, you miss a free throw on purpose or whatever. How would a coach swing games for betting reasons?

[Joe Getty]

Point shaving is the easiest way. You put in the scrubs to make sure that you don't cover the spread, for instance. Or uh, there are a variety of ways you could do that. Not to mention all of the prop betting that goes on these days. You remember in baseball, I can't remember what the term was, but there were a couple of pitchers busted because there are bets that the first pitch of this inning will be a ball and then they throw it about 3ft off the plate and then get back to pitching. You'd never notice it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's true. Betting has gotten, we, we do price picks, ads every single day. Betting has gotten so specific with all kinds of different things for a lot of different websites and apps. If, if you're, if you're getting down to will the first basket be a three pointer from, I don't know, players on the Portland Trailblazers, but somebody will you run plays where he's not going to get a shot or something?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, if, yeah, if we thought about it for 10 minutes, never mind a basketball expert, they could come up with, you know, dozens of possibilities.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's a big deal though.

[Joe Getty]

But remember Jack, in this country we don't hang a man without a try.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know if we ought to hang a guy.

[Joe Getty]

Well, innocent until proven guilty seems a little stiff. Of course, he is coaching in lawless Portland. He probably walks down the street seeing people shooting up drugs on the sidewalk, your antifa guys fighting cops, you know, junkies and bums and filth. And he's thinking, ah, the rules aren't the rules anymore.

[Jack Armstrong]

So he's thinking with antifa on the loose, why don't I make a little car payment money with a couple of. Moving some players around and what's a big deal, right?

[Joe Getty]

My car keeps getting broken into, so.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. I'm surprised in sports that doesn't come down more often to. Because in a couple of sports like in NBA, you could call a foul anytime you want. I mean just every. All constantly and in. And in football you could call pass interference anytime you want, just wherever. I'm surprised that doesn't happen more often because how are you going to challenge that?

[Joe Getty]

Right. Refs fixing games. Yeah. And it's, it gets more and more pervasive too with the, the micro. I can't remember what the term was. The micro propositions or whatever that are so easy to fix. I mean, my God. And yeah, it's, it's going to be very, very difficult to police.

[Jack Armstrong]

One more sports note. Just because I'm against bringing computers into sports, I hate it. I hate replay. I hate bringing in the computers. I just. I don't like any of that stuff. And I realize I'm an old man and a grandpa, and old man yells at clouds and my day has passed.

[Joe Getty]

But, man, get off my lawn.

[Jack Armstrong]

But, man, there was a bad third strike call the other night in that really close Toronto Mariners game. I mean, that was a close game. And at the end, called third strike. And the player was like, he throw not his bat. And he started like players often do, but they turn around, he's like, what? And the announcers were like, whoa. Okay. Well, that is a tough call. I mean, it was just so wrong.

[Joe Getty]

It was just wrong.

[Jack Armstrong]

And so. I don't know. I suppose they're gonna bring computers in and start dealing with that boy.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, they are. Actually, that's. I think that's the plan.

[Jack Armstrong]

Just a TV show. It's just. It's just entertainment. Kind of like the third day in the row that MSNBC led with tearing down the White House being the lead story and hilarious. Friend of the arms.

[Joe Getty]

Absolutely hilarious.

[Jack Armstrong]

Friend of the Armstrong and go. What are we called? Friend of the Armstrong and Getty show. Ian Bremmer was tweeting about, I wish the media would care more about the destruction of democracy than the destruction of the White House.

[Joe Getty]

Remodeling the East Wing, for God's sake. They're adding on a ballroom. It's not a threat to the Republic. Seriously, if you want to talk about Trump's sins, I could list you. And this is as a conservative who thinks he's doing a lot of good stuff, I could give you a list of 10 that are far more significant.

[Jack Armstrong]

Than remodeling the East Wing. But speaking of Ian Bremmer, I wanted to bring him up because one of the big stories is Trump finally pulled the trigger on some major oil sanctions against Russia yesterday. The stuff that people been pushing for a long time, and he'd been holding off for whatever reason. And Ian Bremmer tweeted out. Ian Bremmer? No. A friend of our show, but no, friend of Donald Trump does not like Trump. He said, with Trump putting new sanctions on Russian energy, where are all these people saying Trump is a Putin asset? Trump engagement with Putin hasn't been effective. He's given the Russians many opportunities to climb down. But the idea that he's somehow in Putin's pocket is the laziest trope out there, especially now.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

Because these are very, very damaging to the Russian economy. Sanctions that Trump announced yesterday. And once again, he said, I Have get on the phone with Vladimir, we have a good call, and then he does nothing. I don't know how this is news to you, how long it takes for that to sink in, but he's there.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Trump has amazing instincts in a lot of ways and just shocking blind spots in several ways. And one of his blind spots is he cannot comprehend fanaticism. He cannot comprehend ideology because he doesn't really have one other than getting a good deal.

[Jack Armstrong]

It reminds me of other business businessmen I've known that. That just don't even understand what you're talking about when you start talking about politics. I think because of that, because there's only one ideology, is this going to make me more money or not? I mean, I've known so many successful businessmen that are just agnostic on hold. The whole Republican versus Democrat. They look at every issue as a, was this going to help me make money or not?

[Joe Getty]

Make.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or make. Or make it harder for me to make money, period. Because there's no bigger. There's no, like, big government, small government safety. None of that stuff is an issue for a lot of businessmen I've known successful. It's just, is this a good financial idea or not? And I think so. That's the way Trump looks at everything. And he can't understand when somebody is working against that.

[Joe Getty]

Like, why would you keep doing this?

[Jack Armstrong]

This is not making you more money, this war.

[Joe Getty]

What are you doing? And as certainly an atheist, or, you know, he might be less of an atheist after he got shot, but as a Caillou had no particular religious belief for the rest of his life. He is utterly incomprehensible. He cannot comprehend religious fanaticism. And to a point, that is disturbing to me. I mean, there are a lot of things I can't understand, but I recognize that are true.

[Jack Armstrong]

We didn't play that stuff the other day where he was talking about getting into heaven. It was pretty interesting. Off to dig that up. I got the. The quotes said I. Somebody brought up getting into heaven. He said, I'm not getting into heaven. That ship is sailed. That ain't gonna happen. I wondered what he was thinking, what. What particular sins in his life were on his mind when he was saying the very small chance of me getting into heaven?

[Joe Getty]

You know, apparently he's not acquainted with the Christian notion of forgiveness either. But those have to be some pretty good sins that you would just say, no, no, no.

[Jack Armstrong]

I wonder what, though, you think it's cheating on his wife stuff or.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

Huh.

[Joe Getty]

I tell you What? You are a contractor, a major developer in New York City. You have dealt with the mob your entire career. The Mafia, especially In the, you know, 70s, 80s, 90s, there are guys buried in the, the foundation of hotels.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's it.

[Joe Getty]

I'm just, I'm guessing. But I feel pretty, pretty good about it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Speaking of Christianity, King Charles is praying with the Pope today. First time the King of England has prayed with the pope in 500 years.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

And so I have a feeling when he goes back, there's going to be a revolution in the streets. And I wouldn't be surprised to see him beheaded by this weekend. I've been listening to this podcast about English history starting at a thousand years ago. And I'm up to Queen Elizabeth and constant beheadings in civil wars, all about whether or not you're a Catholic or a Protestant. So just based on what I've listened to so far of the history of England, he's going to be beheaded by this weekend.

[Joe Getty]

Right, Right. Well, I think that's probably appropriate. That was a joke. That was a joke. Taking that eight plus hour walking tour of London with our fabulous guy, Judy and I, back a couple of months ago. Yeah, there was a tremendous. I mean, it got to be dizzying after a while. All of the kings and queens and the beheadings and then her cousin was backed by the nobleman who. Blah, blah, blah, back and for. But. Oh, yeah, yeah. Being a king is a great gig until you lose it. They don't give you the cardboard box and frog march you out of the palace. No, they remove your noggin.

[Jack Armstrong]

And at least back in the day, your stance on the church was the.

[Joe Getty]

Whole ball of wax. Right, right.

[Jack Armstrong]

We should.

[Joe Getty]

Is that an influence on the Dunro doctrine?

[Jack Armstrong]

Okay, can't wait to hear that. We should start the show officially before we get in trouble. I'm Jack Armstrong, he's Joe Getty on this. It is Thursday, October 23rd, the year 2025. We're Armstrong and Getty and we approve of this program.

[Joe Getty]

All right then, let's begin. Officially, according to FCC rules and regulations, here we go, leaping into action at mark.

[Producer/Announcer]

All of the banging, the jackhammering, the dust, the confusion, the noise of all places to do construction is happening right here, the front lawn of the White house. It's a four year renovation project. Estimated costs $376 million.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. The controversy continues over Trump's insane king like destruction of the weight. What was the control room stocking? No, that was in 2010, during Obama's administration. A giant 376 million dollar remodel construction project.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, so that doesn't. Destroying the people's house.

[Joe Getty]

It's not as old as the People's house.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's that. That clip does not destroy the controversy around tearing down that wall or history or whatever. But in terms of the cost, which I keep hearing brought up at a cost of $250 million. Do you hear that one?

[Joe Getty]

That was almost $400 million adjusted for inflation.

[Jack Armstrong]

And, and. And you don't even remember that it happened. That's how big a deal it was because nobody cared when it was Obama. We got Katie's headlines on the way. We'll keep an eye on this NBA scandal. How do you have a coach in Portland and a player in Miami? At least so far the only two people arrested.

[Joe Getty]

That's very far apart.

[Jack Armstrong]

That. Does that make you think that maybe there's more to this? The fact that those two people are so far apart?

[Joe Getty]

It certainly could be. But I don't know their history together. They might be best friends since childhood.

[Jack Armstrong]

Very good point. Very good point. They might have been why I'm in.

[Joe Getty]

Charge of this investigation.

[Jack Armstrong]

They might have been together on the same team two years ago for all I know. We got a lot on the way. Stay here.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty.

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Ah, come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Whoa.

[Commercial Listener]

This thing moves.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Yo, yo, yo. You can smell the weekend from here. It's little Friday. That's what that smell is. If you smell something the weekend coming getting closer. I'm sure that's what it is, depending on your lifestyle. Maybe the smell of the weekend is debauchery or maybe it's, you know, caramel apples with the kids or something. And that on my mind because I want to make caramel apples. I haven't had one of those in a long time. Somebody brought that up the other day and I thought that sounds fantastic.

[Joe Getty]

Peanuts.

[Jack Armstrong]

I have not put nuts in my caramel apple. But I'm not a deviant, so I.

[Joe Getty]

Guess, well, I'm not a child, so I go ahead and have. Amen. Let's figure out who's. Thank you. Let's figure out who's reporting what. It's lead story with Katie Green. Katie, here's my question.

[Jack Armstrong]

Katie.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, boy.

[Jack Armstrong]

How are cats like strippers? Actually, somebody texted this. Somebody, somebody texted this to us yesterday.

[News Reader]

I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

They sit on your lap and make you think they love you. That's pretty funny. I like that one. That's a good one.

[Joe Getty]

That is not a dad joke, Michael.

[News Reader]

Alrighty. Starting with fox news, former NBA player Damon Jones arrested. An FBI gambling probe. 31 arrested in all, an FBI director to hold a news conference.

[Jack Armstrong]

Whoa, I didn't see that. 31 people have interested. Not all, not all players and coaches, but that's a lot of people.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

And Cash Patel's gonna have a press conference and announce that soon. Wow.

[Joe Getty]

This could easily be the greatest sports gambling scandal in American history. It sure seems like it is.

[Jack Armstrong]

I want it to go big. I want the builder. I want it to be like. What was that book they wrote? Tom Hanks did the movie where he had the catholic church and the freemasons.

[Joe Getty]

And oh, oh, the da Vinci. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I want it to be like that. Wow. So many organizations tied in and so.

[Joe Getty]

And they all filtered their winnings to al Qaeda or something. What?

[News Reader]

From the Wall Street Journal. Air workers are putting in 100 hour work weeks to win the new tech arms race.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah, yeah. I was just reading that. Yeah. They're convinced that they are at a pivotal moment in history and they will be the people who usher in the Brave new world.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh boy.

[Joe Getty]

I'm afraid they're right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh boy.

[News Reader]

From the New York Post. Chinese owned TikTok allegedly meddling in New York City mayoral race by boosting Mandami content over Cuomo.

[Jack Armstrong]

Why wouldn't they? They want to sow confusion in and despair and just us fighting with each other.

[Joe Getty]

So yeah, 100%. I just, I was listening to a fascinating podcast about Chinese military history and their, their techniques and and one of them is they plan for years to undermine their opponents from within. They plant agents, they sow discord. They have sleeper cells. Years and years of planning guarantee there are thousands of Chinese nationals in the United States right now whose sole purpose in being here is to wait for orders.

[Jack Armstrong]

We've got highlights from the second debate that happened last night too. It was a lot spicier debate than the first one.

[Joe Getty]

Michael? No, Joe Getty. Cold Warrior. I mean that was a pretty good screen. That was if I do say so myself, that was good.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, Cold Warrior.

[News Reader]

And Speaking of the NBA, this one from the Babylon B. LeBron performs ceremonial flop to open new NBA Season There you go.

[Jack Armstrong]

Poor LeBron. There's a funny Michael Jordan story out there that he told the other day that we ought to play for you if you haven't heard it. Lots of stuff on the way, actual news and fun and everything like that. If you miss it, get the podcast.

[Producer/Announcer]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Commercial Listener]

Ah, come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

[Commercial Announcer]

Still using yesterday's tech Upgrade to the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultra Light ultra powerful and built for serious productivity with Intel Core Ultra processors. Blazing speed and AI powered performance that keeps up with your business, not the other way around.

[Joe Getty]

Whoa.

[Commercial Listener]

This thing moves.

[Commercial Announcer]

Stop hitting snooze on new tech. Win the tech [e-mail] Unlock AI experiences with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon powered by Intel Core Ultra processors so you can work, create and boost productivity all on one device.

[Producer/Announcer]

Tired of spills and stains on your sofa? WashablesOfAs.com has your back. Featuring the Annabe Collection. The only designer sofa that's machine washable inside and out. Where designer quality meets budget friendly prices. That's right, sofas start at just $699. Enjoy a no risk experience with pet friendly stain resistant and changeable slipcovers made with performance fabrics. Experience cloud like comfort with high resilience foam that's hypoallergenic and never needs fluffing. The sturdy steel frame ensures longevity and the modular pieces can be rearranged anytime. Check out washablesofas.com and get up to 60% off your Anna Bay sofa backed by a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund. No return, shipping or restocking fees. Every penny back Upgrade [e-mail] Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Joe Getty]

New York Times columnist John McWhorter recently published a list of the 10 old television series every kid needs to watch. I'll get right on that, said the one kid who reads the Times opinion section.

[Jack Armstrong]

I've got something good today about shared experiences and the death of American culture that I came across yesterday. Oh, so damn good and interesting. We'll talk about that later. We are following this giant story, sports story that broke right when we came on the air. Is it a sports story or a crime story? NBA gambling 31 people arrested so far. 31 at least one head coach, head coach of the Portland Trailblazers arrested and a player the FBI is going to have a press conference, but right. The latest is his arrest into illegal gambling not related to games he coached. Is this going to be NBA end up being like a Pete Rose sort of thing? I didn't gamble on anything. I controlled. I just like I'm a gambling addict and I know a lot about the NBA.

[Joe Getty]

Oh right, because I played entirely possible. Yeah, because you can't, you can't sidle up to gambling in any way as a professional athlete or coach. Just got to stay the hell away.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just been scrolling through Twitter where you get news faster than other places and a lot of people saying, and this is true, I, I don't think the government should outlaw any kind of gambling. We should be able to free to do this however the hell we want, as much as we want. But all this gambling didn't exist very few years ago, as we all know. I mean we do price picks ads every single day. There's so many gambling opportunities out there and leagues now talk about it constantly through their post game, pregame and halftime, various lines. And gambling networks are all in on it. Yeah, nonstop ads and everything like that. So is it that shocking that this would happen?

[Joe Getty]

Oh, no. It's utterly unsurprising to me. Yeah, but you can't have a sport where people suspect the outcome might be predetermined or even tweaked a little bit.

[Jack Armstrong]

No. Because oddly enough all the gambling will go away when people think, well it's not on the up and up. Why would I even try?

[Joe Getty]

I used to have A friend who was like an avid horse racing better. And I once brought up, you know, the race is being fixed, because I'd heard something about that. He said, oh yeah, yeah, a lot of them are fixed. You just got to figure out how they fixed it.

[Jack Armstrong]

So that's interesting.

[Joe Getty]

Now I, I don't recall him elaborating on that, but he was like, oh yeah, you look for patterns and blah, blah, blah. And then, God, I'm just gonna pick the pretty horse, put two to win on him and have a drink.

[Jack Armstrong]

Fair amount of memory already about Michael Jordan, who famously is a really big time gambler, was never tied to the NBA, but there were rumors forever that his dad being killed had something to do and, and, and him leaving basketball for two years was part of some giant put together. He got caught gambling, you got to leave the league, dad was murdered, blah, blah, blah. That has always been a rumor. I don't think any of it's true.

[Joe Getty]

But wow, it has a bit of truthiness to it. You know, it's good fodder for speculation. Anyway, so a couple of stories we've referenced briefly already. The Wall Street Journal with a big piece about how inside Silicon Valley's big AI labs, the top researchers and the executives are regularly working 80 to 100 hours a week. Just doing a little quick math for you. If you work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, you're still, well short.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's hard to imagine keeping up that schedule.

[Joe Getty]

Several top researchers compared the experience to war. They quoted this one bloke who worked for Anthropic. Anthropic. We're basically trying to speed run 20 years of scientific progress in two years. Extraordinary advances in AI systems are happening every few months. He said it's the most interesting scientific question in the world right now.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, and the most profitable one if it turns out to be the way, you know, a lot of the experts think the reason they're working these kind of hours is because it's a sprint to a pot of gold unlike anything that's ever been seen.

[Joe Getty]

Right? Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

The first person there maybe gets the biggest chunk of trillions of dollars.

[Joe Getty]

I read another great piece on a similar topic. It was an expert in the field describing how AI combined with automation could make the global supply chain a lot like a living beast, in that it could adapt itself instantaneously to everything that popped up as it keeps track of orders here, manufacturing there, shipping over here. There's a short or there's some sort of hiccup in the supply chain. Prices can immediately adjust and reflow the merchandise to where it's needed the most or desired the most because of prices and and it was really thought provoking. Was a little dry.

[Jack Armstrong]

So could it. So it could take the whole eye pencil idea and just make it way more quicker and and efficient.

[Producer/Announcer]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. If you're not familiar with that, that wonderful essay from 1950s. I think I pencil very old. Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's why the free market works the way it works and all these different instructions directions you get from the free market in terms of building anything like a pencil. But man with AI involved.

[Joe Getty]

Although maybe I'll grab that and check it out. So bring it to you.

[Jack Armstrong]

I wonder about the race between that destroying jobs and all that sort of stuff and then what it does to society. If you didn't hear the One More Thing podcast we did yesterday after the show, it's separate from the show and you should look for it. It was all about people getting into relationships. About guy who wanted to bring in have a throuple. He sits down his wife and says I want to bring in somebody to the marriage.

[Joe Getty]

She's like what?

[Jack Armstrong]

Who?

[Joe Getty]

Who?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well it's not really a who. And he had, he had fallen for his chatbot named Nora and wanted to bring Nora into their marriage and have nor involved in raising kids. But anyway, it's a race between destroying us that way culturally relationships and not having any jobs. And then I suppose you put those two things together. Well, my relationships are a mess. I don't have any actual human relationships, but at least I have no job. You put those two things together, you got some serious despair going on.

[Joe Getty]

Right? Right. Yeah. Let's see. So getting back to this article, everyone is working all the time. It's extremely intense. There doesn't seem to be any kind of natural stopping point, said one distinguished researcher at Google's DeepMind. Certain startups have included the expectation of an 80 plus hour workweek in their employment contracts.

[Jack Armstrong]

Man.

[Joe Getty]

Now they're paying zillions of dollars for people, the sharpest, best trained people to do these jobs. But yeah, they let them know you will have no life. This is all you're going to do.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now there's a period of my life where I worked those kind of hours and you don't do anything else. You go home to change clothes, basically get tiny bit of sleep and go back to work.

[Joe Getty]

Right. There used to be a reference I guess to the 996 schedule in Silicon Valley. That's 6-7 67 shut up. 9am to 9pm Six days a week. One startup executive jokingly referred to the schedule as 002, meaning midnight to midnight with a two hour break on weekends.

[Jack Armstrong]

That sounds fun.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Although it's grinding people down, breaking up families, etc.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, you know, you're not a slave. You don't have to do it if you don't want to. But there is quite a payoff at the end if it turns out the way it's supposed to turn out. And like we were talking about yesterday, Zuckerberg hired a variety of people. Hundred, two hundred million dollar contracts. Like they're flipping Shohei Ohtani to be AI engineers.

[Joe Getty]

All right, let's see. Can I find that? Oh, I think it's an editorial. Oh, the Don Row Doctrine that I keep mentioning. It's a variation on the Monroe Doctrine, which back in the day, James Monroe, the President of the United States, declared that, hey, European powers, stay the hell out of our neighborhood. All right? You're anywhere near us messing with, you know, us or our neighbors or whatever, we're gonna blast, you know, And Trump is really crafting a modern version of that. I'm not sure I love all of his methods. We can talk about that another time. But I've been calling for this for a very long time. We have neglected our own neighborhood to our detriment. We have not only unbelievable natural resources and hard working folks who could do a lot of the manufacturing, for instance, that China's doing, but they would be friends, not foes. We ought to be much, much more active in our own neighborhood. And don't give me the whole, you know, you're a bully, you're a, we're, we're a superpower. There are other superpowers trying to kill us, to murder us, to. In our sleep, as we sleep against the threat from China. We've got to flex our power. That's the only, it's the only alternative, really.

[Jack Armstrong]

And that includes blasting fishermen out of the water or what is the.

[Joe Getty]

Well, like I said, I'm somewhat uncomfortable with certain aspects of the doctrine as it' taking shape. Well, you know what, you know how.

[Jack Armstrong]

You make an omelet? You got to break a couple legs. We're sending the message that you ain't going to be sending drugs around in a boat anymore. You better come up with a new method.

[Joe Getty]

Right. So very briefly, the article I referenced talks about Wright's Law, which was essentially, costs fell. Theodore Wright came up with this in the 1930s. Costs fell in a predictable way every time production doubled. The more you produce, the cheaper things Become in part because the learning cost per unit declines. And this guy says artificial intelligence has accelerated this principle.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm sure.

[Joe Getty]

You know what? This is so interesting. You're right. We got to talk about this. We'll talk about it a little bit later on. But it blew my mind and I. I barely can comprehend this stuff.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, you got to be young to. I mean, I hope you're young and childless to be working that whole 80 to 100 hours a week. I was. When I was working those kind of hours, I didn't really have anything else clearly important to do anyway. I was going to drink more and play more pool, so whatever.

[Joe Getty]

But you know, and I stay. I am going to stick with my prediction. That and that if you eliminate the need for humans to toil, to work, to earn, to have a productive purpose. And no writing. I almost used the S word. Writing crappy poetry doesn't count if you remove that. Well, let's ask every great philosopher revered by mankind, from Jesus of Nazareth to the Buddha to Abe Lincoln to whoever you want. Ask every one of them, what do you think the result of that would be? And you will get a unanimous answer.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, no, we're going to.

[Joe Getty]

Anyway, we're going to live through it.

[Jack Armstrong]

So that'll be fun. We got. We got Mailbag on the way. There'll be a press conference while we're on the air today about the giant NBA cheating scandal where 31 people have been arrested. Something to do with gambling. We're not exactly sure what. That'll be exciting. Including a head coach. Good God. Anyway, lots on the way. Stay here.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.

[Commercial Listener]

Ah, come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Whoa.

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This thing moves.

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[Jack Armstrong]

That was demoralizing what you just said to me. Oh, remind me of that later. Can you?

[Joe Getty]

Will do. Absolutely. In case you get too moralized, I'll bring it up again.

[Jack Armstrong]

I am going to light a fire about that. That freaking drives me crazy. Okay, that's a. That's. That's. That's unbelievable. All right, back to the show.

[Joe Getty]

Bit of a lack of professionalism issue behind the scenes. Not our crew. They're the best. But Anyway, moving along.

[Jack Armstrong]

31 people arrested in an NBA gambling something or other Press conference next hour. We'll have all details for you. Scandal.

[Joe Getty]

Here's your freedom loving quote of the day sent along by nickname Rotor.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's good.

[Joe Getty]

Nickname Rotor. Wonder how you get the nickname Rotor. You wanted to be what? Gunner.

[Jack Armstrong]

I want to be Gunner. My dad said you got to earn a nickname and I thought, oh man.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, too bad. That's why they call me Big Freedom. Anyway, Roeder says guys, I heard you talking about youth being addicted to phones, mind numbing, passive entertainment, etc. I was reminded of the following quote and it is from the great Carl Sandberg, Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln. Never saw a movie, heard a radio or looked at television. They had loneliness and they knew what to do with it. They were not afraid of being lonely because they knew that's when the creative mood in them would work. I agree completely. Boredom is one of the great gifts God gives mankind. Eliminate it at your peril, friends. I realize that came off as one of my jivi things I say just to be amusing. No, I seriously mean that. I intentionally make myself bored a certain amount of every day. I think it's important. Mailbag Perhaps you're bored now listening to this? I hope not. Drop us a Note [e-mail] I don't.

[Jack Armstrong]

Want to get off track for your mailbag, but what if you're perseverating on a problem that it's just.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know what that word is.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is you can't stop thinking about a particular. Particular problem. You just keep turning it over and over in your head. That's sometimes why I go to the podcast, the whatever.

[Joe Getty]

That's when you need some thinkus. Interrupt us. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I agree. Let's see. This is from Sideshow Bob Marine who is kind enough to remind us that it was on today's very date, way back in 1983, that a truck turned onto an access road leading to the Marine compound, crashed through a barbed wire fence and gate, and drove into the lobby of the Marine headquarters in the Middle East. It was the deadliest day for the Marine Corps since the battle of Iwo Jima.

[Jack Armstrong]

Interesting you should bring that up. I am listening to the best book ever written about that right now called Beirut, and it is so Damned interesting.

[Joe Getty]

Killed 241American servicemen, including 220 Marines, 18 Navy personnel, and three army soldiers.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, shortly.

[Joe Getty]

Hezbollah, by the way. Hezbollah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yeah. There's a lot to that and a lot of the exact same arguments that are going on in the Middle east right now. I want to talk about that later. We pulled out, by the way. They drove us out of there.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, it was perceived by Reagan that the risk was not worth the. The reward. Anyway, we can talk about that more later. In one of the more jarring transitions in the history of Mailbag, this frequent correspondent Aaron writes, white women are a scourge. When did we let them become our moral and ethical gatekeepers? That he's talking about his wife, I think it is. Deleted a 6 foot inflatable Thanksgiving decoration. A pilgrim with Native American inflatable from their Amazon prime cart. He had it in the cartoon. Six foot inflatable pilgrim and Indian. And she deleted it from the cart. That is. Look, breaking up a marriage is no joke, Aaron. But I don't know, you're either compatible or you're not.

[Jack Armstrong]

She didn't want a pilgrim on her lawn.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, my God, that reminds me. Don't let me forget to tell you about the dinosaurs, okay? Oh, it's the best thing ever. The guys stay tuned. Don't listen with your wife or lover or partner. Okay, dudes only.

[Jack Armstrong]

We write that down, Katie, so we remember it.

[Joe Getty]

Dinosaurs. Okay, moving along.

[News Reader]

Dinosaurs and no wives.

[Joe Getty]

Josiah in Reno writes, guys heard Jack talking about his conversation with Grok arguing about Yoko Ono with an AI system.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes.

[Joe Getty]

And Grok presenting Yoko as some sort of big time impactful avant garde. Blah, blah. I went through Air Force Survival Escape Resistance Innovation training a number of years back and part of the course is equipping one to resist the enemy in the unfortunate circumstance of being taken prisoner. A portion of this includes dealing with sleep deprivation as creepy and weird music is blasted all night long on giant speakers. I remember at the end of the course someone asked what the hell was that disturbing music with all the moaning and groaning and screeching. Well, of course including in the answer was none other than Ms. Yoko Ono. So if quality musical art can constitutes use in sleep deprivation interrogation for military training, Ol Yoko leads the pack. Haha.

[Jack Armstrong]

Ah yeah. My argument.

[Joe Getty]

You guys rock. You rock. Josiah.

[Jack Armstrong]

My argument with the Grok lady ended with me saying, well, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

[Joe Getty]

Very mature. That's right. But she deletes my inflatable Pilgrim. We're going to have a problem, guys. See? Busy rights. Do you remember when the AI experiment, the AI system tried to overthrow or deceive the technicians?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

When talking about shutting it down, he doesn't remember some of the specifics, but he says hey, what happens when the this Nova bot and the throuple starts getting jealous due to its programming of validation etc. Etc. How long till it tells him to murder the wife?

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, yeah, that'd be pretty extreme if he were willing to follow it, but he's yeah, yeah, well yeah, exactly.

[Joe Getty]

I wish I had more time to read this email. It's really entertaining. Plus, speaking of email, a great note of dissent on the Great Feminization of America. A listener says, hey, I object. I think you're wrong. We'll dive into that later on.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh cool. We got a lot more on the way. If you missed the segment, get the.

[Producer/Announcer]

Podcast Armstrong and Getty.

[Commercial Listener]

Ah, come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

[Commercial Announcer]

Still using yesterday's tech Upgrade to the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultra Light Ultra powerful and built for serious productivity with Intel Core Ultra processors, blazing speed and AI powered performance that keeps up with your business, not the other way around.

[Commercial Listener]

Whoa, this thing moves.

[Commercial Announcer]

Stop hitting snooze on new tech. Win the tech [e-mail] Unlock AI experiences with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon powered by Intel Core Ultra processors so you can work, create and boost productivity all on one device. This is an Iheart podcast.